OT- On demand water heaters

Dave from MN · Jan 23, 2009

I have set a goal of reducing our electric bill by 25%. I want to switch first from a electric water heater to a LP on demand type. I think we may have discussed once before, but I would like to hear some testimonials, pro or con.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 23, 2009

Ever had one of them days that you'd like to stand under a hot shower for an hour or so???? Try that with a tank heater. We have an oil boiler for radiant heating that also heats 150 liters of water. When temps get to around 50 degrees, we turn it off and use wood to take the chill off and I switch over to an electric on demand heater.

Dave

Gun guru · Jan 23, 2009

I actually looked into an electric h2o heater cause of the high cost of Propain.
I think that if you have .11 cents/kwh it breaks even with propain at about $2.50/gallon or something. I would have to run the numbers again. But......I would rather support coal mining in the USA instead of Arabs pumping oil.

JOCCO · Jan 23, 2009

I have one, They also have oil and electic fired ones. Don't know the dollar amount of there savings. However if you are gone for 3 days they do nothing, come through the door and 30 seconds you have hot water!!! They are very compact and take up little space. My opinion is a+ and if your tank heater craps out upgrade to one. Same can be said for new washers and refridge. One new washer uses 1/2 the water of the old types. ALSO YOU MUST REMEMBER ALL THOSE SAVINGS DEPENDS ON USE. ie a family of 8 or 1 person living alone. Good luck.

IaGary · Jan 23, 2009

Dave until LP comes down a little I believe you will spend as much for lp as you save on electricity.

But you may save by going to on demand type with electric or lp.

I have heard good and bad about the on demand.

Don't think you can run two hot water taps at one time. EX. washing clothes while showering is a nono.

Gary

in-too-deep · Jan 23, 2009

I installed a BIG tankless water heater at the camp I worked at in IL. It was a Rinnai 199k btu unit. It was pricey, and it takes a bigger gas supply, and the venting is special and quite expensive. On the other hand, it would certainly pay for itself over time, and Europe has been using tankless water heaters for years. I haven"t heard anything good or bad about the unit I installed, but maybe they just haven"t called me. It was much bigger than what you"d need though.

buickanddeere · Jan 23, 2009

Do you want to save electricity or save money?
A wee 120V 1 gallon demand unit under each sink will prevent dumping all that water that had been heated by the central heater. Then lost it's heat as it sat in the lines.
You will save more by installing the foam wrap insulation on every inch of the hot pipes.
You may be able to re-locate the water heater to directly under the main bathroom and kitchen. This will save more than going LP.
Electricity prices are stable. Electricity is also "cheap and easy" to make with solar panels and wind turbines connected to a grid tie inverter.
LP prices are going to go up.
LP in the house while a minor hazard. It does introduce combustible gases, flame and combustion byproducts to your home. Which have to be vented out.
Add in the cost of a LP and CO detector if you don't already have 2 or 3 in the house.

M Nut · Jan 23, 2009

Just a thought....If you would ever consider putting in an outdoor wood boiler to heat the house, they work great for heating your domestic hot water too.

Russ from MN · Jan 23, 2009

I have been researching them for some time, Quite feasible on natural gas. One problem I have is I can't install on an outside wall, that seems to be the preferred location. Best of all, I think there is a $300 tax credit this year!

DR Darren · Jan 23, 2009

have you contacted your local utility to see if you can get a rebate or help with a new water heater. and since you already have an electric water heater have you looked into the ones on the link included. i will be installing one of these in my new house to back-up my solar hot water.
Stiebol Water Heater

RodinNS · Jan 23, 2009

You'd want to look at that very carefully. Everyone I know that put LP in and though it was the great salvation had it out as soon as the contract was up, and they were a good lot poorer too.
At least they get a steady rate on the line. LP fluctuates rather wildly by comparison. It was fast heat, but expensive from what I've been told.
It mightbe different depending on your electric rates, but it didn't pay here at 11 c Kw/H.

Rod

504-2 · Jan 23, 2009

I have a Bosh LP. I have a small one,yes you can only take one shower at a time but you can take the one ALL DAY LONG. There is no way you can heat 40 gals of water 24/7 on electricity and be cheaper than heating only what you need when you need it. As for plugging up,if mine plugs up I can take out the heating coil and take it to a radiator shop or better yet flush it out with CLR. a tank type will rust out in what 10 yrs? I have 7yr in my Bosh so far.

buickddeere · Jan 23, 2009

Electricity here at 9 cents a KW/hr is cheaper than LP.
Electricity is 100% efficient, LP puts 15-25% of the heat up the stack. One can also locate a small 1 gallon demand heater under each sink.
Your central LP heater heats then drains that entire hot water line down the drain.The under sink unit doesn't require running previously heated water down the drain as you wait for hot water.
The electric heater doesn't require a butt ugly LP tank in the yard either.
Electricty has no moving parts, no flame, no fumes, no risk of explosion.
To hear some people talk, you would think LP was saving them $300 a month.
LP is more expensive to install than electric as well.

farmerjohninpa · Jan 23, 2009

i work for a propane co. as a serv. tech. we install the rinnai tank-less water heaters. they can be mounted outside the house or on a exterior wall. they come equipted with a valve system that has a special cleaning feature built right into them for backflushing the heater coil of lime ,debris and whatever! they have a self-diagnostic system built in and a few other nice features. i have customer that have had them in use for over 3 years and swear by them. had one customer in those 3 years that was not completely satisfied with his and after we had the company rep. out on site he up graded to the next size up and gave it to them free and he has been happy ever since. just my 2 cents

Anonymous-0 · Jan 24, 2009

We also have a tankless bosch, installed 2 years ago in August. At the time they only had 2 models. We got the cheapest of the 2. Our main purpose was space in the utility room. The 40 gal tank we had was built on a 2x4 platform above the sump pump. What a pain, literely, anytime I hadda play w/the pump, I always hit my head on a cross brace. You woulda figgured Ida learned(big grin).

If you exit the exhaust thru the wall, you'll need a blower. I've replaced 3 "blower safty switches" when the wife turned on the hot water during power outages. Otherwise, its been a good unit.

HTH....don t. ....

Anonymous-0 · Jan 24, 2009

Classic grass is greener. Stay with a utility for stable heating costs. Propane dealers cry about their high retail prices not being able to follow falling wholesale prices because of prior purchases but when the reverse is true retail prices reflect rising wholesale prices not what the dealer paid. Either way your paying more. If you ever consider solar an electric tank water heater works the best for storage and as a supplement.

OT- On demand water heaters

Dave from MN

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Anonymous-0

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Gun guru

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JOCCO

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IaGary

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in-too-deep

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buickanddeere

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M Nut

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Russ from MN

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DR Darren

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RodinNS

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504-2

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buickddeere

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farmerjohninpa

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Anonymous-0

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Anonymous-0

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